Indians Prospect Insider

The Cleveland Indians are frustrating. Their starting rotation is good, or bad, depending on the month. The offense is good, or bad, depending on the player. The defense was supposed to be better, and is falling apart. The bullpen was supposed to be good, and is bad. Is there light at the end of the tunnel, and a quick look at some players the Indians may be looking at at the trade deadline.

It's not the way the Indians wanted to start the second half, but is it time to hit the panic button? Jake and guest host Mike Hattery discuss a tough road trip to open the second half as well as the numerous miscues and mental lapses the Tribe has seen as of late. The guys will also talk trade rumors and the first suspensions of the Biogenesis scandal on this week's edition of Call to the Bullpen tonight at 10pm ET!

Last week bore witness to another handful of losses for the Lake County Captains as they dropped four of six games at home. The bullpen continues to be problematic for the team and the offense, though productive, continues to lack timing when it comes to big hits. The IBI's Stephanie Metzger recaps the events that took place in Lake County last week.

The AZL Indians dropped a second straight game Tuesday night, falling 7-2 to the AZL Cubs at Hohokam Park. In a game that was similar in many ways to Monday night’s contest, the AZL Indians failed to come alive offensively and even when they did score runs, the bullpen was unsuccessful in holding the lead.

The long-anticipated return of Zach McAllister to the Indians rotation is finally here and while his first start wasn’t all that great, we’ll still take it considering the circumstances. The right-hander pitched five innings allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits and had to work around miscues by his defense as well as his own rustiness. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he recaps another frustrating loss for the Tribe

It was just last season that Tribe starter Zach McAllister led the league in unearned runs. Making his first start since June 2, the right-hander received no help defensively again Tuesday night. Three more errors and lack run support proved more than a recipe for disaster, as the Indians fell one run short to the Seattle Mariners for the second straight night, 4-3.

39 combined runners were left on base. That’s the key number from Tuesday night turned Wednesday morning’s game between the Crushers and Miners. Both teams blew numerous chances to score, before the Crushers finally took advantage in the bottom of the 17th inning to win 5-4.

While Lake County may have been off and Mahoning Valley was rained out, there was still plenty of action around the Indians farm system on Tuesday night. Paddy Matera continued to impress with Mudcats while Tyler Naquin also had a performance that seemed to indicate he could be coming out of his slump. Join the IBI's Arthur Kinney as he recaps those performances and more as he takes you Around the Farm.

BUFFALO- With both offenses being unproductive, pitching was left with little room for error Tuesday night at Coca-Cola Field. The Buffalo Bisons got the upper hand and scored two runs in the sixth inning and then two more in the eighth to defeat the Columbus Clippers 4-1.

Professional baseball presents a constant course of inevitable challenges, but Nick Hamilton has overcome adversity since his toddler years. He has overcome a serious hearing issue as a child and is a prospect in the organization that he grew up with and loved, and the same organization his father is the play-by-play announcer for on the radio. The IBI's Stephanie Metzger recently sat down with him and shares his story...

We kicked off this series with a review of first base, so it seems like second base is the natural progression across the diamond. This is an interesting look, mostly because it features the player who has inarguably been the Indians best hitter this season. The IBI's Jeff Ellis breaks down the numbers as he continues to assess whether this team is truly different from teams over the past few seasons.

Before heading out on their road trip last week, Akron Aeros manager Edwin Rodriguez noted the dire position the team's 47-50 record left it in as the season starts winding down. His team responded, as the Aeros got back to .500 over the past week and put themselves firmly in the playoff race. To read about Akron's winning ways, top prospect Francisco Lindor's red-hot debut, and much more, join Jim Piascik and go Launching off with the Aeros.

The AZL A’s outlasted the AZL Indians on Monday night, prevailing 5-4 in 10 innings. Despite outhitting their opponent nine to five, the AZL Indians’ bats failed to string any really meaningful rally together for the majority of the game, spoiling a terrific outing by starter Kieran Lovegrove.

Following a disappointing series in Minnesota to start the "second half" of the season, the Indians traveled far west for a three-game set with the Mariners. As was the case in the two losses against the Twins, the team pitched well enough to win, but the offense just couldn't do enough to make it stand up. The IBI's Kevin Dean shares his second thoughts on another disappointing offensive effort.

In a city known for their lack of sleep, Indians bats remained in a deep snooze Monday night at Safeco Field. More offensive woes continued, as the red hot Seattle Mariners squeezed by the Tribe, 2-1 to win their seventh straight and the first of the three-game series.

Columbus righty Trevor Bauer had a really positive performance on Monday night throwing a complete game and was strong throughout his outing. Akron phenom Francisco Lindor had another big night at the plate and just continues to impress. All of this and more as the IBI's Michael Hattery takes us Around the Farm....

Quad Cities (16-13) scored four times in the sixth inning and defeated the Captains (15-15) by a final of 7-4. Roberto Pena and Brian Blasik walked to begin the sixth and Jordan Scott, who had five RBI’s, singled them both home.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!